


When the Work was Done

by thesometimeswarrior



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 08:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3930256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want you to escort me to the Spirit World."<br/>"Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else."</p><p>Nearing the end of his life, General Iroh asks a favor of Avatar Aang. Dear friends of the Royal Family come to offer thanks to their great mentor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the Work was Done

The tea was piping hot, and Aang was careful to hold the ceramic cup gently, so as not to burn his fingers. “It’s delicious as always, Master Iroh,” he said, sipping. “Thank you.”

“It is I who should thank you, Avatar Aang. I am truly fortunate to consider you a friend.”

Aang nodded, appreciative, in response. “Well, the feeling’s mutual.”

“Thank you. But, as great a pleasure as sharing tea with you is,” Iroh continued. “It is not the only reason I have asked you here. I have a great favor to request of you.”

“Of course.”

“I’m an old man, Avatar. My time here is drawing to a close—I can feel it. In fact, I am selling the teashop and returning to the Fire Nation.”

The other man was momentarily at a loss for a response. “I…you’re…you’re selling the teashop?” Aang asked, finally settling on the least startling of the subjects. He looked around. “But you love it here.”

“Yes, I do,” Iroh affirmed, chuckling. “And I have loved every day of my thirty years working here. And I shall miss Ba Sing Se as well. But the shop is in good hands—Ming makes an excellent pot of tea—and I want to be with my nephew and his daughter now.”

“I understand that.”

“But this is still not why I have asked you here, Avatar Aang! For even you cannot stop death, and I would not ask you to if you could. I do not desire that. No, I have a different favor.”

“Name it, Master Iroh.”

“I want you to escort me to the Spirit World. Shortly before my death, so that whatever non-corporeal part of me exists might remain there after my body is gone.”

When Aang, didn’t respond, only stared at the other man, agog, Iroh continued: “I understand the enormity of what I ask.”

“No, it’s not that,” said Aang, a hint of unintentional pity in his voice. “It’s just…Iroh, you know the Spirit World’s not an afterlife, right? Very few humans ever go there, and even fewer remain there. There have been stories of spirits dragging people in, and then sometimes they have to stay, but…I think I can do what you ask, and I’d be glad to...but, Iroh, it’s unlikely your son is there. Zuko’s told me about Prince Lu Ten, how he died, what it did to you. I could search, and I will if you want…but it’s not likely.”

Iroh closed his eyes and took another sip of tea. “He’s not there. I have looked.”

Aang nearly choked. “You’ve already been to the Spirit World?”

“Yes. When my Lu Ten passed, such a powerful grief overcame me, Avatar. After I ended the siege I returned to the Fire Nation only long enough to attend Lu Ten’s funeral, and when I left, my grief was like an opaque veil in front of my face. I didn’t know where I was, or where I was going—I hardly knew who I was. Eventually, and without knowing it, I somehow waded into the Spirit World—not physically of course.” Iroh said, to Aang’s confused expression.

“That makes sense,” noted Aang, nodding. “When we reach our lowest point, we’re open to the greatest spiritual experiences.”

“Yes,” agreed Iroh. “Or to the greatest change. I had not considered myself a spiritual person before this, Avatar Aang. But despair can prompt great change; this is what happened to my nephew at the end of the War, and, earlier, to me.”

Aang nodded and then beseeched: “But I interrupted you. Please continue, Master Iroh.”

“I was in the Spirit World—perhaps even drifting in and out of it—unaware of where I was for a long time, wandering, confused. Eventually, and I am still not sure how or why, I came to myself, and realized where I was. At first, I was elated. I thought perhaps I had been given a chance to be with my son again and forever. So I searched for him, for what felt like a lifetime. I asked spirits—some of them would not help me, and the rest could not. Finally I was forced to conclude that Lu Ten was not in the Spirit World, and despair overcame me again.”

Iroh paused to take several deep breaths, and blinking away tears, he poured and downed another cup of tea. 

His companion reached across the table and gripped his arm supportively. “I’m sorry, Master Iroh—I didn’t mean to upset you. Forgive me. You don’t have to tell me this if it’s so difficult.”

“No,” the older man responded, blinking away more tears. “Thank you, Avatar Aang, but I would like you to understand.” He took another deep breath and continued: “When I realized that there was no hope of finding my son, not only did I despair, I panicked. I knew that if I could not return to my body soon, I would die. And though I had not known it until that moment, I wanted to live. If Lu Ten was not in the Spirit World, he must have been reincarnated, I thought. And I would never see what was left of him if I did not survive. But I had no idea how to leave the Spirit World, and the despair was seeping into my brain again—like before, I could not think. Depression and anxiety are a terrible combination. But eventually, I met a friendly spirit, who guided me back to my body—not a moment too soon I’m sure.”

Aang nodded, but still looked confused. “But, if your son isn’t in the Spirit World, why do you want to go back there?”

“Because there are bound to be people who, like me, find themselves in the Spirit World despairing and alone. And they should not be alone. No one should have to struggle alone. After I returned to our world, I pledged myself to do all I could to help others, at first because I thought that they could either be Lu Ten incarnate or part of him and that this was how I would be able to care for my son now. But eventually because I realized that every person was a human being, someone’s beloved child as Lu Ten was mine. I came to understand that human beings are worthy of respect and a helping hand, when they need it. I even eventually returned to the Fire Nation because I saw that if her honor were somehow restored and the War ended, my country could be a force for aiding people, for peace and balance in the world. And my nephew saw to that. I think I have helped him achieve it, and helped others besides. But I am nearing the end of my life, Avatar Aang. My work here is done. But I can continue to do good if I go to the Spirit World.”

The Avatar sat speechless for a moment. “You…you’d give up…peace, for the smallest possibility of helping more people?”

“No. The only time I have ever found peace was when I helped others. What I ask is the only way I can be sure I will have it.”

“You should’ve been the Avatar,” Aang chuckled softly, then bowed from where he sat. “Master Iroh, it would be my honor to escort you to the Spirit World.”

 

The two months that followed were some of the most serene Zuko had seen in years. Yes, there had officially been peace since the War, and little conflict since the founding of the United Republic. But the day-to-day tasks of running a country generally had him stressed, and Mai would whine and say he worked too hard. But when Iroh came home, Zuko entrusted the beaurocratic tasks to a few of his closest advisors so that he could be with his uncle. Admittedly, when Aang had come, informing him of Iroh’s request, he had scoffed. Why should his uncle die before absolutely necessary? Why should Aang take him? But when he had seen Iroh, and how content this decision made him, Zuko begrudgingly accepted it, even if he didn’t like it. His uncle deserved peace, even if his manner of procuring it was not the one to which Zuko might have immediately jumped.

He sat with his uncle every day for hours, next to the pond on the Palace grounds, sipping the tea that Iroh made, until he became too weak to do so, and then Zuko, whose efforts were tolerable but significantly less delicious, took over the tea-making duties. Sometimes Izumi, the teenage princess, would join them and demonstrate her latest Firebending techniques for her great-uncle. Currently, she said, she was working on something her father called the “Dancing Dragon” form, and that he told her that when she had mastered it completely, she could study under some great Firebenders called the Old Masters. Iroh smiled when he heard this and eyed his nephew, who returned a knowing look. The old General was proud that he had been able to preserve the Old Masters, and that now, thanks to his nephew, they would no longer be hunted and their great gifts would instead be cherished.

On the days Izumi did not join them, Zuko and his Uncle sat, discussing everything in the guise of nothing: tea, the weather, life in Ba Sing Se, new developments in the Fire Nation Capitol City and in Republic City. Iroh had long since ceased advising the Fire Lord on how to do his job, though his nephew knew he was always willing to. But if Iroh was honest with himself, he knew that Zuko was a far more capable leader than he could ever be; his honor and nobility were balanced with just the right amount of ambition and drive to keep their beloved nation moving forward, and Iroh was glad to be able to merely witness his country’s redemption.

Gradually over the following two months, the royal family’s friends came to pay their respects to the great General, their great mentor. First came Katara with her three children—seventeen-year-old Bumi, handsome, goofy, and who fancied himself a man, thirteen-year-old Kya, reckless and rambunctious, and eleven-year old Tenzin, serious and wise-seeming, even for one so young. (“Aang will be here in a few weeks,” Katara said, after hugging Zuko, bowing to Iroh, and ensuring her children bowed to both. “He went to the Eastern Air Temple to meditate and prepare.”) Sokka arrived several weeks later, followed by Toph and her girls—Lin, serious at ten-years-old, and Su, who had far more energy than any five-year-old Zuko had ever seen. 

Finally, Aang arrived. “Hey, Sifu Hotman,” he softly greeted Zuko, and hugged him. “You doing okay?”

Zuko didn’t answer, but Aang understood.

That night, Zuko asked Aang: “Are you sure this is going to work?”

The Avatar nodded. “Yeah. I’ve prepared and spent the last few weeks checking the Spirit World to be sure. Everything will be fine.”

“But all this Spirit stuff…it’s all…I mean it’s—“

“I know you have your doubts about the Spirit World, Zuko. But I promise you, it’s for real. I’ve been there…too many times to count. And your uncle’s been there too.”

“What do you mean my uncle’s been to the Spirit World? You’re the Avatar, but him?”

“And you also thought dragons were extinct, but then we discovered that he somehow miraculously saved two of them. And now they’re repopulating. Would anything about your uncle really surprise you at this point?”

“No…but spirits, Aang? It’s…”

Aang put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard to believe. And it’s always hard to lose people we love. Believe me, I know that too. But this is what he wants.”

Zuko sighed. “I know.”

 

By the designated day, Iroh was too weak to leave his bed. Therefore, the court stylists, whose duty was to make the ninety-year-old General presentable for his procession of guests, came to him. As he stood beside him as the stylists did their work, Zuko couldn’t help but notice that, though his uncle was old, and certainly weak, he did not look frail. But then the Fire Lord wondered if his uncle could ever seem frail in his eyes, because after all, Zuko had seen how extensive Iroh’s quiet strength was, and knew that it would always be that way, until the old man’s end…whatever that meant now.

When the procession of final respects was set to begin, Aang entered the room first. He bowed to Iroh. “How are you today?” 

“Ready,” responded Iroh simply.

Aang turned to Zuko, “And you?”

“Fine,” Zuko responded gruffly, turning away.

The Avatar eyed his friend, opened his mouth to say something comforting to him, but, changing his mind at the last moment, instead simply remarked, “I’ll tell everyone you’re ready for them. And then, if you don’t mind, I think it might be a good idea if I stay in here, just to ensure everything remains balanced spiritually.”

He stepped out briefly, and then promptly reentered with Katara, Sokka, Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin. Each bowed, and Katara gently hugged the General. “Thank you, Master Iroh. I don’t know what would have happened without you, where we’d be. Thank you.” 

Sokka nodded. “Yeah. The War would’ve ended differently for sure. You’re a good General, sir. A good strategtican. But you’re an even better man—and that’s something I’m starting to admire more, the older I get. Thank you. And thank you for helping me…be okay with me. You know, after.”

“You two are heroes,” Iroh murmured, as loudly as he could manage. “And am I happy to have played my part.” 

As they bowed to him again to leave, Iroh nodded. Katara, Sokka, and the children turned to exit the room, but as they reached the door, Bumi, who until now had been quiet as he deemed mature, turned on his heels, ran back to Iroh’s bed, and wrapped his arms around his neck.

“You were the best babysitter I had as a kid,” he said. Then Bumi moved closer, and whispered so that no one in the room but Iroh could hear, “And you always made me feel like I was worth something, like I could do things right, even though I’m not a bender. No one else, not even Uncle Sokka, has made me feel that way.” 

“Never allow yourself to think that you are not worth anything,” Iroh whispered back. “Being a bender is nothing compared to having a good heart. And you have such a good heart, Bumi. If you want to, you can be an indelible force for good in the world.”

Bumi nodded and tried to keep his tears from pouring down his cheeks, until Iroh stated: “It is not childish to cry.”

Again, Bumi nodded, this time allowing the tears to flow. “I’ll miss you,” he said. “Thanks for everything.”

And then, slowly and sniffling, he turned away from Iroh, and walked back to where his siblings, his mother, and his uncle stood. They looked at him curiously, wondering what was said in the private conversation, but Bumi, with no intention of telling them, proceeded through the door, leaving the others to follow him.

Toph, Lin, and Su entered next, and Toph immediately proceeded to kneel next to Iroh’s bed, with more affection in her eyes than either of her daughters had ever seen in them. “You know,” she said. “I don’t think I ever told you how much that cup of tea when I was twelve meant to me. I don’t think I’d have gone back to Twinkle-Toes without you, and then…who knows what woulda happened. To him or to me or to…everyone else.”

“I was glad to share tea with a fascinating stranger.”

“No, but it’s more than just the tea. Before I met you, people either saw me as the helpless blind girl or the Blind Bandit. I was never…I was never just a kid, or a person who could use advice like every other person, not more and not less. I think what you said allowed me to really trust people, for maybe the first time in my life. So…thanks.”

“I’m glad to have helped.”

Lin and Su ogled. Never had they seen their mother speak with such vulnerability. And when she turned to them a moment later, it, and the accompanying affection, seemed to be gone. “Do either of you have anything to say to Master Iroh?”

Su, fidgeting, shook her head, but little Lin bowed with the proper form that Tenzin had showed her recently, and said: “You have been an inspiration to all benders, Master Iroh.”

Iroh chuckled while Su rolled her eyes, then Toph bowed, and the three Beifongs left the room. 

Next, the royal family themselves entered. Princesses Mai and Izumi approached Iroh’s bed, and Izumi had tears in her eyes.

“Do you really need to go, Great-Uncle?” she asked, embracing him, though she the answer.

“Like the seasons, Princess Izumi,” Iroh responded, “We all are here briefly, we do out work, and then we move on. But I know this world is in wonderful hands.” And he gently gripped the young princess’s hands. 

She smiled a watery smile.

Iroh continued: “When you meet the Old Masters, say hello to them for me. They trained me too, you know.”

“Really?” she asked. And Zuko recognized in his daughter the same wonder he had felt when learned that Iroh had danced with the dragons. 

“Really.”

“I love you, Great-Uncle.”

“And I love you.”

After her daughter was finished, Mai, too, bowed, and never the one for sentiment, stated simply: “Thank you, Master Iroh. I am honored to have been a member of your family.” But as she said it, both Zuko and Iroh could see the tears in her eyes. 

Mai glanced at Zuko, nodded, and then led Izumi out of the room. Now, only Zuko and Aang remained in the room with Iroh.  
Aang stood. “I’ll be just outside. Call for me when you’re ready.”

Now only Zuko remained with his Uncle. Just the two of them, like those dark, last years of the War. Just the two of them alone with a crew loyal to Ozai, sailing, futilely searching for the Avatar. Just the two of them, wandering as exiled refugees around the Earth Kingdom. Just the two of them, happy for the first time in years that Zuko could remember, in Ba Sing Se. 

The enormity of what to say this man who had raised him and saved him, hung heavy over Zuko, and he was reminded of that early morning thirty years ago, in the Order of the White Lotus camp outside of Ba Sing Se. Then, he had felt that there were no words to express his remorse, just as now he felt there were no words to express his gratitude. 

Still, he had to try. “Uncle, I—”

“Fire Lord Zuko, stop.”

“Uncle?”

“I know what you’re going to say. You are going to thank me for everything that I did for you when you were lost. But you have thanked me already. You have been thanking me for the past thirty years, with your words and especially with your deeds. I know, Fire Lord Zuko, that I helped you. But you may not know that you saved me as well.”

Zuko, surprised, gazed at his Uncle. “I…what?”

“When I lost Lu Ten, I was lost. For a long time, I could not find purpose or a reason to continue living. Even when I did, when I decided that I was bound to help others because I could no longer help Lu Ten, because I had failed him in life—and of course because everyone was someone’s beloved—I loathed myself. What father allows his own son to die in a campaign that he himself commands? Still, perhaps there was some poetic justice…”

“Uncle, you cannot blame yourself for Cousin Lu Ten’s—”

“Yet I did. I questioned what type of father I was, and I questioned what type of man I was: for as a general, I had been responsible for innocents’ deaths. And surely they all had fathers that grieved, that anguished as I anguished. How could I care for anyone? And yet, Fire Lord Zuko, when I finally returned to the Fire Nation, when I saw you at age thirteen, I saw a boy who was impeccably honorable, but who was scared and confused. And I wanted to help you. I tried, but I was afraid. What if I could not do it? What if I failed again?”

“How could you even question your ability to—”

“Because you see, Fire Lord Zuko, I was right. On that terrible day, when Ozai punished you for being honorable, when you needed someone to defend you, not only did I stay in my seat, I looked away. And I apologize.”

“Uncle—”

“But after you were banished, because I felt I had failed you in looking away, and because whether I was afraid or not, I knew you needed guidance, I threw everything into helping you. And you grew. And I was able to find peace for the first time since Lu Ten passed. And I found that I was able to help others too, because in allowing me to assist you, you demonstrated to me that I could. You are also to thank for what everyone has thanked me for today.”

“But Uncle, that was never me. All of that was because you had the courage to overcome your doubts.”

“No, Fire Lord Zuko. Because I still did not know if I could consider myself a good man, even though I was trying to take the moral option with the Order of the White Lotus. But when you found me at our camp the last morning of the War, and I found that you had had the courage to face your upbringing and what you thought would make you happy, to leave and pursue what you knew was right, when I learned that you had found your Way by yourself, I thought that perhaps I might not be a terrible man. I was able to forgive myself for Lu Ten, because I thought that perhaps I was not such a terrible father after all. And you have only affirmed the feeling with everything you have accomplished for our Nation and for the world since.”

“You were the best father I could have had.”

“Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko.”

“Uncle…” His tears were flowing freely now. “How do I go on from here?”

“You keep doing what you have done for the past thirty years: guide the world in its era of love and peace. And if you still need guidance, remember that sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.”

“Yeah.” He embraced Iroh for several long minutes. 

Finally, the old man beseeched, “I am growing tired, Fire Lord Zuko. Would you please fetch the Avatar?”

Zuko nodded, and then Aang was there. As the Avatar leaned over Iroh, placing one hand on his forehead, and one on his heart, the Fire Lord reached for his Uncle’s hand. “I love you, Uncle.”

“And I love you, Fire Lord Zuko.”

Aang’s arrow tattoos lit, Zuko felt his Uncle’s hand become limp, and saw his eyes close. 

When the Avatar’s tattoos faded, he embraced his best friend. “He was so proud of what you created, Zuko: an era of love and peace.”

“Yeah,” responded the Fire Lord, wiping the tears out of his eyes. “Let’s go keep creating it together.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that has been on my mind for a while. Some direct quotes are borrowed from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
